Training a Child With ADHD to Focus
Using Conditioning to Get Your Child Into "Homework Mode"
Nov 9, 2008
Homework time might as well be called "torture time" in many households, for both parents and students alike. A battle of the wills often commences, especially when the students are children who have disabilities such as ADHD or learning disabilities. Some parents think if only their children could simply concentrate and do the work, they'd be finished in just a short time. That may seem impossible, but it isn't. The human brain can be trained to enter a particular mental state on cue. Parents who want to train their children to enter a state of calm focus at the start of homework time can do so with conditioning. This is just one way they can make life easier and help children succeed - important because children with ADHD face failure more often than others do.
What is Conditioning?
In this application, conditioning is repeatedly introducing a stimulus (baroque music) when the child is naturally calm and focused, until the child associates that music with that calm, focused state of mind. Baroque music can trigger that state of mind on its own, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the effects of music on the brain, but training the child to associate that music with that state of mind can trigger the desired state instantly. Many people are familiar with the effect of associating music with other things - hearing a song reminds them of a certain date, or always makes them think of the same movie. They might say, "That song always puts me in a good mood."
How Can Parents Train Children to Focus?
A parent should observe the child, and find out what activity puts him into a state of quiet focus. Examples of activities that might bring the desired state are reading for pleasure, painting, doing yoga or tai chi, and creating things like scrapbook or social bookmark pages.
When the child is calm and focused on something, a parent should play some baroque music. The parent should encourage the child to do activities that induce this calm focus every day for about two weeks, and play the same music each time. A word of caution: the activity should not be video games, texting or chatting online - the child may be focused, but he won't be calm. The child shouldn't be sleepy or preparing for sleep.
After two weeks, the parent should check the strength of the association in the child’s mind. This can be done by playing the music at a time when the child is not very calm and focused, and observing the effect the music has on the child. If he doesn't seem to change state within a few minutes, then more time may be needed.
When Music Brings the Desired State of Mind
After the music appears to induce the desired state of mind, the parent can then begin pairing the music with homework, while continuing to play it during the activities that previously induced the calm, focused state of mind. This will strengthen the association between that music and feeling calm and focused. Before long, the student will automatically enter that state of mind every time he hears that kind of music.
This kind of brain training can be used to create many different results, but parents should be careful not to create associations they don’t want to create. Creating associations between different kinds of music and different mental states or activities isn’t difficult to do, and if done properly, will help students train their brains to function better.
